'The Regime' Episode 3 Takeaway: Elena Vernham gets berated by her 'corpse' father Joseph Vernham
Contains spoilers for 'The Regime' Episode 3
CENTRAL EUROPE, EUROPE: A fictional European nation with a focus on power struggles serves as the backdrop for the ongoing HBO mini-series 'The Regime'.
Created by Will Tracy, the series stars Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Guillaume Gallienne, and Hugh Grant, among others.
The Stephen Frears and Jessica Hobbs-directed series revolves around Chancellor Elena Vernham (Kate Winslet), who begins to be influenced by a disgraced soldier named Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts). This strange relationship alters the dynamics of her thick-walled palace.
Elena Vernham celebrates Joseph Vernham's birthday in 'The Regime' Episode 3
It was very clear from the onset of the series that Elena does indeed have some daddy issues, given that she has preserved the body of her deceased father, Joseph Vernham, and that she only ever speaks to the corpse.
In the most recent episode, Elena makes the decision to celebrate her deceased father's birthday—of course—with his corpse.
The woman visits her father's body and declares that she is doing well on her own and keeps telling the body about her new policies as a pretext for cooperating with Herbert.
At the party in the evening, Elena is surprised to see that ordinary people are there instead of elegant visitors, which naturally annoys her.
Nevertheless, she decides to keep quiet after learning that Herbert has come up with the plan.
Herbert Zubak coerces Elena Vernham to confess about her corruption in 'The Regime'
Subsequently, Elena is confronted by the disgraced soldier, who wants her to admit her corruption in front of the guests. Knowing that it could be disastrous for her, she declines to do so.
When Herbet is about to expose the truth about the Belize slush funds, she is saved by Nicholas Vernham (Guillaume Gallienne) and the other minister's spontaneous birthday song.
Later on, Elena has a dream in which her deceased father chastises her, calling her a vapid, feckless political w***e with no principles. He uses some of the most obscene language possible.
He belittles her for her incompetent decision-making abilities and asks that she reclaim her power from Herbert. Breaking out of her reverie, Elena resolves to get back at Herbert.
'The Regime' is available to stream on Max
